Canon: IS Image Stabilization
From the “you get what you pay for” IS, aka image stabilization. Here's a photo done with a Canon 70-200L IS f/4 at: f/7.1, 1/30, 155mm handheld.
Dog falling asleep. Canon 7D: ISO 800, Canon 70-200L IS f/4, 1/30sec @ 155mm f/7.1 for the depth of field hand held
Here is the 1:1 extract
1:1 extract
Look at how crisp it is! 1/30th of a second at 155mm focal lens on a 70-200L-IS f/4, handheld. Amazing!
- 118 photos in total
- 56 photos so sharp and crisp that they are good enough for 16” by 20”
- 21 photos good enough for 8” by 10”
- 9 photos good enough for 5” by 7”
- 32 photos that I deleted
Think about it: ½ of the photos at 1/30th of a second at 155mm handheld being sharp enough for 16” by 20” prints!
What about the sharpening? I didn't do any, but… I'm not the only one in the processing chain. Smugmug which hosts the photo does some sharpening. Your web browser, especially if you have a modern browser like Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, also adds some sharpening automatically.
- By the way it's not just Canon, it also applies to Nikon's VR, vibration reduction.
- What about Olympus, Pentax and Sony? They do not have stabilization in the lens, but it's in the body. Is it the same? Sometimes yes and sometimes a definite no.
- Yes: for wide angle and “normal” lenses.
- No: for the long tele photos. There's a huge advantage to Canon / Nikon. The stabilization is done before the focus. Olympus, Pentax and Sony have to do the focus before their stabilization happens. The stabilization on the long teles will be less effective for the auto-focus (Do I hear tripod?).